Lead Infrastructure Architect, Tandem

• IT degree or equivalent industry experience (demonstrable experience in senior infrastructure or architectural roles)
• Strong technical leadership and stakeholder communication skills — able to explain complex concepts to non-technical audiences
• Proven hands-on experience with networking, network design, and security technologies (Palo Alto Firewall, Juniper Switches, VLAN, VPN, routing, WiFi)
• Expertise in Windows Server, Active Directory, Group Policy, PowerShell, and virtualisation technologies (VMware, Hyper-V, Azure)
• Strong background in Microsoft 365 administration and Azure AD management
• Experience with Backup and DR solutions (Veeam, Azure, MS Backup)
• Strong understanding of infrastructure monitoring, automation, and configuration management
• Excellent documentation and architectural design skills
• Proven experience working to security and compliance frameworks (NIST, CIS, RBAC, IDAM)
• Passionate about creating secure, sustainable, and high-performing technology environments
• Purpose-driven, with high integrity and strong ownership of outcomes
• Equally comfortable operating at strategic architecture and hands-on implementation levels
• A clear, confident communicator and collaborator who brings teams together
• Forward-thinking, pragmatic, and innovative in approach
• A strong sense of accountability, with excellent planning and organisational skills
• Motivated by challenge, learning, and continuous improvement

Desirable

• Reporting to the Infrastructure Manager, you’ll be the technical authority and design lead for our hybrid infrastructure - spanning corporate WAN/LAN, on-premises and Azure server environments, WiFi, and Microsoft 365 (including Intune, Defender, and Compliance)
• You’ll work closely with Information Security and Network Engineering teams to ensure our architecture is secure, resilient, scalable, and aligned with business goals
• You’ll join a team of talented Network and Infrastructure Engineers, collaborating to deliver an integrated, modernised environment across three legacy domains (network, AD, O365)
• As the Lead Infrastructure Architect, you’ll provide both strategic direction and hands-on expertise, ensuring the successful evolution of our hybrid and cloud-first platforms
• Define, design, and maintain enterprise infrastructure architecture across on-premise and cloud environments (Palo Alto SASE, Azure, VMware, Hyper-V)
• Drive the modernisation and integration of legacy infrastructure into a unified, secure, and scalable platform
• Own and maintain the infrastructure roadmap, ensuring alignment with security, compliance, and business objectives
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to a team of network and systems engineers
• Act as the final escalation point for complex infrastructure issues, ensuring stability and reliability
• Collaborate with the Information Security team to embed security best practices (NIST, CIS Benchmarks, RBAC, IDAM) into design and operations
• Partner with third-party vendors to ensure service continuity, value, and architectural integrity
• Lead on documentation, governance, and standards for infrastructure design and configuration
• Conduct on-site reviews and audits to ensure quality and compliance across environments
• Working Pattern: Monday to Friday, 36.25 hours per week, with participation in a 24/7 on-call rota as required